«YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ALSO FORGIVE YOU»
«For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you». Matthew 6:14, NIV
GRAHAM STAINES and his wife Gladys decided to leave Australia, their native country, and move to India to work for the lepers. In January 1999, Graham took his two boys, Philip and Timothy, and went to a retreat for Christian believers. Gladys stayed home with their daughter Esther. Graham decided to rest along the journey, and spend the night in Manoharpur, all three of them inside the car. As they slept, a mob set the car on fire and the three of them were burned to death.
As expected, Gladys was devastated by the tragedy; her pain was indescribable. How did she face the tragedy? The first thing she did was confirm her decision to remain in India and continue to worK with those who had leprosy. And what she did next is even more striking. According to a report published in The New York Times, Mrs. Staines said, «Whoever did this, we will forgive them.»• Because of her example, work, and social service, the Indian government granted her the Padma Shri award.
Why is it good to forgive? Among other reasons, as Alan Paton stated, «When a deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive.»** Forgiveness is an essential part of the process that will lead us to recover from the blows we receive in life. Refusing to forgive someone who has offended us, creates a grave of bitterness in the soul of the one who was offended. We must forgive in order to heal.
On the other hand, those who believe in Christ and have made the commitment to keep paving the way for mercy in this world will have to forgive without limits or conditions. We should be willing to forgive, without complaining or grumbling, up to «seventy times seven» (Matthew 18:22),—that is, indefinitely. Sometimes we complain because we think our society needs more justice and stricter laws, when what we should actually request is for God to give us a big heart ready to forgive.
What’s natural is for us to resist wanting to forgive those who have wronged us, but it would be good for us to imitate Mrs. Staines’s example and forgive, always forgive. This promise is for everyone: «If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you» (Matthew 6:14, NIV).
Can you imagine what your life would be like without God’s forgiveness?
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Avineyda Hernández